A wholly integral anode for electrolytic refining of metals

ABSTRACT

Metallic copper or other metal, such as nickel, to be subjected to electrolytic refining is formed into a continuous slab strip of anode width and thickness. The strip is cut transversely of its width to form successive, rectangularly shaped, anode slab blanks, each having a pair of elongate members extending longitudinally of the strip at one set of corners of the blank. The so-formed blanks are passed individually through a bending operation, by which the elongate members of each blank are bent outwardly laterally of the blank and preferably within the plane thereof and intermediate the lengths of such members to form suspension lugs wholly integral with the remainder, i.e. slab body, of the blank, while being held preferably at the notched other set of corners of the blank from which the elongate members of the immediately preceeding blank were cut. The individual anodes, as articles of manufacture, have respective slab bodies, with wholly integral and upwardly and laterally outwardly projecting lugs at the upper corners thereof to serve as suspension hangers. These anodes are characterized by elongate notches at the lower corners of the respective slab bodies, such notches extending upwardly along the lateral margins of the slab bodies.

United States Patent 1 Frankovich 51 Jan.2,1973

[54] WHOLLY INTEGRAL ANODE FOR ELECTROLYTIC REFINING OF METALS [75] Inventor: George J. Frnnlrovich, Sandy, Utah [73] Assignee: Kennecott Copper Corporation,

New York, N.Y.

[22] Filed: April I, 1970 [21] App1.No.: 24,711

[52] US. Cl. ..29/527.6, 29/417, 164/76, 204/286 [51] Int. Cl. ..B23k 19/00 [58] Field of Search ....29/527.5, 527.6, 417; 164/76;

[56] 9 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,504,429 4/1970 Snelgrove .1. ..29/527.6 1,501,692 7/1924 Ward ..204/286 2,666,029 l/l954 De Quasie et al. .........204/286 3,298,945 l/l967 Weis et al. ..204/28l X Primary Examiner-John F. Campbell Assistant Examiner-Donald C. Reiley, lll Att0mey-.lohn L. Sniado, Mallinckrodt & Cornaby and PmXWalllHcld-Frfi [57] ABSTRACT Metallic copper or other metal, such as nickel, to be subjected to electrolytic refining is formed into a continuous slab strip of anode width and thickness. The

strip is cut transversely of its width to form successive, rectangularly shaped, anode slab blanks, each having a pair of elongate members extending longitudinally of the strip at one set of corners of the blank. The soformed blanks are passed individually through a bending operation, by which the elongate members of each blank are bent outwardly laterally of the blank and preferably within the plane thereof and intermediate the lengths of such members to form suspension lugs wholly integral with the remainder, i.e. slab body, of the blank, while being held preferably at the notched other set of comers of the blank from which the elongate members of the immediately preceeding blank were cut. The individual anodes, as articles of manufacture, have respective slab bodies, with wholly integral and upwardly and laterally outwardly projecting lugs at the upper corners thereof to serve as suspension hangers. These anodes are characterized by elongate notches at the lower corners of the respective slab bodies, such notches extending upwardly along the lateral margins of the slab bodies.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAuz ms 3,707, 764

, FIG. 4

INVENTOR. GEORGE J. FRANKOVICH A T TOR/VE Y3 A WI-IOLLY INTEGRAL ANODE FOR ELECTROLYTIC REFINING OF METALS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field: The invention is in the general field of methods for the production of anodes of a metal, such as copper or nickel, that are useful for the electrolytic refining of the anode metal. It is also concerned with the anodes so produced as articles of manufacture.

Objective: In the making of the invention, the primary objective was to produce, rapidly and economically by continuous casting techniques, anodes useful in the electrolytic refining of metals, such as copper and nickel, and not requiring separate suspension means.

State of the Art: Anodes have heretofore been produced by casting a slab body and upwardly and laterally projecting suspension lugs or ears integrally as a unit, or by attaching suspension hangers in one way or another to an anode slab. So far as is known, anodes with wholly integral suspension hangers have not been produced by continuous casting techniques, nor have anodes of the peculiar advantageous configuration of the invention been produced heretofore.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, metallic copper or other metal such as nickel to be electrolytically refined is formed as a continuous slab strip, as by means of continuous casting. A l-Iazelett horizontal strip casting machine, heretofore used by British Copper Refiners, Prescott, Lancashire, England, to cast continuous copper anode strip, is satisfactory for the purpose.

The slab strip is passed through any suitable cutting operation to form successive, individual, anode blanks of substantially rectangular, flat plate formation. U- shaped cuts are made transversely of the length of the strip, so as to provide elongate members extending longitudinally of the strip from one set of comers of the slab body of the blank.

The blanks as so-formed are then successively passed into a holding jig or fixture, where the elongate members are bent outwardly and laterally of the slab body intermediate their lengths to form upwardly and outwardly projecting lugs or cars that serve as suspension hangers for the individual anodes.

Each of the resulting anodes has a slab body with wholly integral suspension hangers at respective upper corners and with elongate notches at respective lower corners extending upwardly along the lateral margins of the slab body. This configuration is advantageous in that it provides for effective and advantageous support at the bottom of the anode during transportation, thereby relieving stress and strain on the suspension lugs or cars.

THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the anode and of the method of producing same presently contemplated as the best mode of carrying out the invention in actual practice are shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 represents a full face elevation of the anode;

FIG. 2, a side elevation;

Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section through a railroad car showing how the anodes of the invention are supported at their bottoms;

FIG. 4, a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3 and drawn to a considerably larger scale; and

FIG. 5, a schematic showing of a typical production line utilizing the method of the invention and indicating apparatus employed in cutting and forming the anodes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a typical anode of this invention comprises a cast slab body 10 of generally rectangular configuration conforming, in size and thickness to conventional anodes produced for use in the electrorefining of impure metal, such as blister copper, constituting the anode. Individual suspension lugs or ears 11, formed wholly integrally with the slab body 10 but bent to formation from the cast metal, project upwardly, as at 1 la, and outwardly, as at 11b, from opposite lateral sides of the slab body at the upper corners thereof as a pair of suspension hangers in a manner similar to suspension lugs or ears that are conven-'- tionally cast to formation in the usual casting-wheel method of producing anodes.

As so bent, the lugs or ears 11 have adequate strength for supporting the anode in an electrolytic cell, but do not normally have the rigidity and strength of the conventional cast suspension lugs. For aiding in the support of the anode during transportation from smelter to refinery, as by railroad'in the manner shown in FIG. 3 and 4, a pair of notches 12 is provided at the lower corners of slab body 10. These serve to accommodate supporting strips, such as the structural steel angles 13, that extend longitudinally of the interior of a special railroad car 14 or other transportation agency in suitably spaced relationship on the floor l5 thereof bordering a longitudinally extending wall 16 in such floor and rising above the floor a distance sufficient to exercise a supporting function with respect to the received anodes. Spacer strips 17, notches at intervals, as at 17a, are secured to the inside faces of opposite longitudinal walls 18, respectively, of the car 14 for separately receiving and holding the individual anodes during transportation.

The lugs or cars 11 in the plane of the slab body 10 and are preferably bent at right angles intermediate their lengths on respective radii, as at 11c, from elongate and relatively narrow members that extend upwardly from the slab body as continuations of the lateral margins thereof.

The anodes are produced by continuous casting techniques applied to molten metal, such as copper or nickel, to be electrolytically refined. The continuous casting may be carried out in any suitable manner to produce a continuous slab strip 20, FIG. 5. The use of the known Hazelett continuous horizontal casting machine, indicated diagramatically at 21, is a practical procedure. The cast slab strip 20 emerging from the machine is passed through a cutting stage, such as a shearing machine indicated diagramatically at 22, for making successive U-shaped cuts 23 transversely of the strip as it travels, each such cut comprising a transverse central portion 23a and longitudinal portions 23b at respective lateral margins of the strip. These longitudinal portions 23b may extend parallel with the longitudinal axis of the strip, as shown, with relative short transverse portions 23c of the cut completing severance of the blank from the strip, or may angle outwardly to terminations at the respective edges of the strip.

Each severed anode blank is passed, in turn, onto a conveyor (not indicated) running at a speed greater than that of the continuous slab strip 20. This pulls the individual anode blanks 24 from the continuous slab strip successively for further processing.

As so separated, each individual anode blank 24 is passed into a jig or fixture, that is provided with a pair of rigid, mutually spaced, retractable blocks 25 for receiving shoulders 10a of the slab body 10 of the blank and holding the blank against forward movement while the longitudinally extending lug or ear members 11 are bent outwardly, preferably intermediate their lengths, on respective radii by a reciprocating roller or rollers 26 operating with respect to a pair of retractable anvil blocks 27 of the jig or fixture.

These anvil blocks arcuate, forming corners 27a that provide for bending the members 11 on respective radii, so that the impure metal being bent is subjected to minimum stress during the bending operation. For the same reason the bending operation is performed as a hot-forming operation. Hot forming at 1600F. on respective three inch radii has proven satisfactory for a typical blister copper slab one and nine-sixteenths inch thick having lug-forming members one and one-half inch wide and 13 inches long overall. Forming can be carried out within a temperature range of about 1300 to about 1700F. and on a radius of from 2 1/2 inches and upwards therefrom, all depending upon the impurity levels of the metal concerned.

Whereas this invention is here described and illus trated with respect to the best mode presently contemplated, it is to be understood that many variations are possible without departing from the inventive concepts particularly pointed out in the claims.

I claim: 1. A method of producing copper or nickel anodes for electrolytically refining the impure metal making up such anodes, comprising forming the impure metal to be refined as a continuous slab strip having width and thickness conforming to the desired width and thickness of the anodes to be produced;

severing from said strip successive slab segments as anode blanks by successively making U-shaped cuts transversely across the strip to provide each blank with a pair of elongate lugs or ears extending longitudinally of the strip from one end of the slab segment at respective opposite lateral sides thereof and with a corresponding pair of elongate notches similarly extending longitudinally of the strip from the opposite end of the slab segment;

separating the successively cut slab segments from the continuous slab strip as individual anode blanks;

and bending the elongate lugs or ears of the individual anode blanks outwardly and laterally of the slab body thereof on respective radii to provide suspension hangers that are wholly integral with said slab body of the blank.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the slab strip is continuously ejected from a casting machine, and the successively cut slab se ments are separated from the continuous slab strip as 1 travels by conveying each slab segment, in turn, away from the slab strip in the direction of slab strip travel, but at a speed faster than the slab strip is traveling.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the elongate lugs or ears are bent intermediate their lengths.

4. A method in accordance with claim 3, wherein the elongate members are bent over respective anvil blocks by means of reciprocating rollers.

5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein the individual anode blanks are held during the bending operation by rigid blocks inserted in the pair of elongate notches that are left at the opposite set of corners of the slab body by the cutting of the elongate lugs or ears from the strip, said blocks being held stationary during the bending operation. 

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the slab strip is continuously ejected from a casting machine, and the successively cut slab segments are separated from the continuous slab strip as it travels by conveying each slab segment, in turn, away from the slab strip in the direction of slab strip travel, but at a speed faster than the slab strip is traveling.
 3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the elongate lugs or ears are bent intermediate their lengths.
 4. A method in accordance with claim 3, wherein the elongate members are bent over respective anvil blocks by means of reciprocating rollers.
 5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein the individual anode blanks are held during the bending operation by rigid blocks inserted in the pair of elongate notches that are left at the opposite set of corners of the slab body by the cutting of the elongate lugs or ears from the strip, said blocks being held stationary during the bending operation. 